A blog discussing the forms and fashion of fencing in the Victorian Age

Monday, February 8, 2016

Some Notes on the
Development of Victorian Saber Fencing - Part II

An examination of the
fencing manual Sword Exercise, Arranged
for Military Instruction by

U.S. Army Brevet
Major Henry C. Wayne (1815-1883)

Major Henry C. Wayne, one time Director of the Sword Exercise in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Sword Exercise Title Page

The
United States was also producing manuals for sword exercise. Brevet Major Henry
C. Wayne of the U.S. Army wrote The Sword
Exercise, Arranged for Military Instruction which was published by the
authority of the War Department in Washington in 1850. Wayne was at one time
the Director of the Sword Exercise in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He
was noted for having traveled to the Middle East to purchase camels for the US
Department of War to test in the deserts of the western United States. The camel
experiment was discontinued after the start of the American Civil War, where he
became a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army.

Camels Arrive in Texas

The
1850 Manual is a combination of treatise Wayne wrote on the small sword and on
the saber, both copyrighted in 1849. There are similarities to Angelo’s Infantry Sword Exercise, whether he has
copied Angelo or used similar sources.

The
book begins with an introduction by Wayne. “Sir: I have the honor to submit to
your examination A system of Exercise on
foot for the Small-Sword, Broad-Sword, Sabre, Cut and Thrust, and Stick as arranged
and taught by me at the U.S. Military Academy when Director of the Sword
Exercise at that institution.”

He
continues: “It is submitted at the request of some of my brother officers, to
supply a deficiency in our military instruction”. And adds: “As a healthy and
manly amusement, improving both the morale and physique of the soldier.”

The
first part is Fencing with the
Small-Sword, citing the system of La Boessiere* “as the best both in theory
and practice”. It is written as a more typical fencing manual, including
sections on how to mount and button a foil, etc. It contains five parts.

Part
I – Exercise without Foils

Part
II – Exercise with Foils

Part
III – Thrusts and Parries United

Part
IV – Wall Practice

Part
V – Cuts over the Point

Small-Sword Equipment

*La
Boessiere pere was the 18th century French fencing master that is
credited with developing the fencing mask and was instructor to the Chevalier
Saint-Georges. His son, Antoine Texier La Boëssière, wrote the fencing treatise “Traité de
l'art des armes à l'usage des professeurs et des amateurs”.

Wayne
follows this section with Exercise for
the Broadsword, Sabre, Cut and Thrust, and Stick. He says he has compiled
his information from several French and English treatise, but principally from
“Porter’s Self-Defence on Foot”. He also recommends that, while the elementary
parts should be practiced with a real sword, the use of wooden swords with leather
guards should be substituted for metal swords in practice.

Wayne
gives an explanation of a few terms not defined in the text:

Inside,
Inward – the left or to the left.

Outside,
Outward – the right or to the right.

Quarte,
applied to the hand – nails up.

Tierce,
applied to the hand – nails down.

Feeble,
applied to the blade – the half from point to middle.

Fort,
applied to the blade – the half from the middle to the blade.

Shoulder,
applied to the blade – the joint of the blade with the hilt.

The
manual contains three parts:

Part
I – Exercise without Swords

Part
II – Exercise with Swords

Part
III – Cuts and Parries United

Part I – Exercise
without Swords

The Guard
position (Second Position) has the weight of the body principally on the left
leg. For Wayne, this allows the fencer to retire his right leg from a cut or
throw the right leg rapidly forward in a “longe”. The body is effaced as much
as possible and the left hand is fixed firm on the hip bone or thrown across
the small of the back. Many of the actions are performed from First Position,
or standing.

The Longe
(Lunge/Third Position) – Wayne recommends that a long lunge is not as important
as being able to make a quick recovery. Fencers should be able to lunge from
both first and second position, and recover to them nimbly.

Once the
fencer is skilled in the guard, lunge and recovery, he can move on to exercises
with the sword.

Part II – Exercise
with Swords

To prevent accidents such as the
sword escaping from the hand, it is necessary to have a leather sword knot.

Wayne describes the grip to be used:
“The broadsword and sabre must be held with the fingers clenched round the
gripe” rather than placing the thumb on the back of the grip. This is because
the grip is often too short on a saber, and the weight or curvature will prove
too great.

The Guards are either in Tierce or
Quarte. Wayne does describe a hanging guard, but not until later in the manual.
His exercises are all done from either Tierce or Quarte.

Guard of Quarte

Guard of Tierce

Wayne then details the use of
moulinets. “The object of the Moulinet is to supple the joints of the arm and
wrist, and to give dexterity in handling and whirling the blade”. Wayne only
gives two – left and right, but from each engagement or guard. He then gives a
series of exercises involving advancing and retreating with moulinets from both
guards.

Wayne defines Traversing as footwork
to the side. Particularly useful, he says, if “the retreat should be obstructed
by a ditch or other impediment” and also “an antagonist may be brought in such
a position as to face the sun.”

Moulinet Target

The Cuts

Like Angelo, there are the seven cuts that are fairly standard to
instruction in the nineteenth century. Two cuts are diagonally downward, two
diagonally upwards, two horizontal, and one vertically downwards. Wayne
indicates they should be made principally by the motion of the wrist, keeping
the arm straight and in the direction of the cut. Bending the elbow would cause
“unnecessary width of motion”. The arm should be carried to the opposite of the
cut to keep the body closed and not expose it to the same cut from the
opponent.

Cuts - Direction

Wayne has
the swordsman practice the first six cuts combined while advancing and
retreating.

The Parries

Wayne
teaches the parries of Tierce, Quarte, Seconde, Demi-circle, and Head. He recommends
that when parrying a cut, to slip the right foot back to the left to avoid
attacks to the leg. The parries are delivered with a straightened arm.

Parry of Quarte

Parry of Tierce

Parry of Seconde

Parry of Demi-Circle

Head Parry

Part III – Cuts and
Parries United

Wayne
has the fencers “prove distance” by standing them in first position with the
swordarm straight so that the point is against the guard of the other blade.
From this distance, engaged in either quarte or tierce, they practice the seven
cuts and parries. The fencer delivering the cut “steps forward” with a short
lunge. The fencer parrying “springs back”, returning to first position while
parrying to avoid cuts to the leg.

After adding changes, disengages and feints to the drills,
Wayne goes on with definitions for other actions. He uses unfamiliar terms for
standard actions. This might be because of his own translations of foreign
manuals, or to create his own terminology.

Bearing
(Press) – forcing an adversary’s blade from the line of defense

Battering
(Beat) – striking an antagonists sword to obtain an opening

Round
parries – simple parry united and preceded by a counter parry.

At
this point Wayne introduces the Hanging Guard and gives its advantages and
objections. The Hanging Guard covers a large portion of the body, prevents
thrusting below the wrist and obviates feints. It also “requires a trifling
motion of the wrist to meet any cut”. The hanging guard can be tiresome, but
practice can overcome this defect.

Hanging Guard

He
also describes the “Application of the Point” in saber, which he says has fewer
thrusts than the small sword due to its weight. It should be made with the hand
sufficiently high to cover any cut that an adversary may be likely to make, and
to retard a disengagement. The thrust should be made with opposition, either
inward or outward.

Circling

This
is described as making a circle of about three feet with the diameter of the
point. The fencer should keep the wrist at the height of the shoulder, the weight
of the body resting on the left leg, the head well back. Circling is
serviceable when engaged in the dark to regain the feel of the enemy’s blade.

Wayne
then illustrates some actions that deviate from the general principle of
“cutting towards an antagonist’s blade”. This includes cutting both under and
over the sword, and cutting at the advanced leg or thigh.

Timing
is an attack made on an opponent as he changes position.

Wayne
describes some Disarming actions, though he says they are not likely to succeed
against a good swordsman, but useful against an indifferent one.

He
finishes with some General Observations, giving a description on the use of the
espadon and the stick or cudgel exercise. He then adds recommendations on
opposing the small sword, espadon, bayonet and cavalry with the saber.

The
salute is explained.

1st
Motion – Raise the sword, held perpendicularly, point up, opposite to the right
eye; guard at the height of the shoulder; elbow supported against the body.

2nd
Motion – Drop the point to the front to within six or eight inches of the
ground, by extending the arm downward, bringing the hand in quarte to the side
of the right thigh.

3rd
Motion – Recover to the position of carry swords.

Resume
the first position, and engage.

Wayne
ends with a comment recommending the practice of these exercises with the left
hand as useful and amusing. It will develop muscles in the left arm, side and
leg and be advantageous if the right arm becomes disabled during a contest.

About the Victorian Fencing Society

The Victorian Fencing Society was formed in 2011 for the Research, Training and Demonstrations in the fashion of fencing from the nineteenth century.
We meet in the Dallas area for monthly practice in nineteenth century fencing techniques at the Fencing Institute of Texas. President and Instructor Jonathan Carr started fencing in 1984 and has been coaching fencing since 1997.
Our primary manuals of study come from the Fencing volume of the Badminton library published in 1889 by Walter H. Pollock, F.C. Grove and Camille Prevost, Foil and Sabre by Louis Rondelle published in 1892 in Boston, and Alfred Hutton’s treatise on Saber called Cold Steel published in 1889.
The society is open to all individuals interested in studying the history of fencing in the nineteenth century. No experience is necessary.
Please contact Jonathan Carr for any questions at the email listed in the contact info. Check out our facebook page for recent activity.